Chair for mining-cages.



Patented Sept. 3, 190:. m. H. BECK & .1. n. CAYNUR.

CHAIR FOB MINING CAGES.

(Application filed Apr. 9, 1901.)

2 Sheets-Sheet l. I

A R. a r gacgiors 46? 7 174; 17 I N0. 68!,675. Patented SBpt. 3, MM.

I M. H. BECK 6. J. R. CAYNOR.

CHAIR FOB MINING GAGES.

(Agplication filed Apr. 9, 1901.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(Ila Model.)

mm m 7% M m M MM V9 3 W w. W I w m/ o A/J Wit assess NrTnD STATES PATENT OFFI E.

MELVIN H. BECK AND JULIUS R. OAYNOR, OF VICTOR, COLORADO.

CHAIR FOR MINING-CAGES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 681,67 5, dated September 3 1901 Application filed April 9, 1901. Serial No. 55,080. (No model.) e

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, MELVIN H. BECK and JuLIUs R. CAYNOR, citizens of the United States, residing at Victor, in the county of Teller and State of Colorado, have invented a new and useful Chair for Mining-Cages, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in chairs for mining-cages.

The object of the presentinvention is to improve the construction of chairs for miningcages and to provide a simple, inexpensive, and efficient construction adapted to be readily applied to an ordinary mining-cage without necessitating any alteration in the con struction thereof and capable of being readily operated at either side to project the chairs and to retract the same. 4

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of this character in which the chairs will be automatically thrown inward by contact with the timbers of a mining-shaft when the cage is raised should the chairs be accidentally left in their extended or engag ing position.

Another object of the invention is to arrange the engaging portions of the chairs above the floor or platform of the miningcage to prevent the said chairs from acciden tally catching and crushing the foot of the operator or other person.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical sectional View of a mining-cage and a portion of the timbers of a mining-shaft provided with chairs constructed in accordance with this invention, the chairs being in engagement with the beveled blocks. Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly in section. Fig. 3 is a reverse plan View. Fig.4 is an enlarged sectional view illustrating the manner of mounting the chairs. Fig. 5 is an enlarged elevation of one of the chairs and one ofthe operating devices. Fig. 6 is a detail view of one of the chairs. Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view on the line 7 7 of Fig. 5.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

1 and 2 designate lugs or brackets depending from opposite sides of a mining-cage 3 and composed of inner and outer sections t and 5, bolted or otherwise secured together and to the depending rim or flange 6 of the cage and provided with openings 7, extending entirely through them from top to bottom to prevent dust from accumulating in the lugs or brackets and clogging or otherwise interfering with chairs 8 and 9, mounted on the lugs or brackets. The lugs or brackets are rigidly secured to the cage, and they project below the same and are adapted to sustain the weight of the cage and prevent the connections, hereinafter described, beneath the cage from coming in contact with thebottonl of the shaft and being injured. The chairs 8 and 9, which are arranged in an upright position, are provided at their upper ends with hooks 10, and they have angularly-bent shanks, which are pivoted within the openings of the lugs or brackets by means of transverse shafts 12 and 13, extending across the bottom of the mining-cage, and journaled at their ends in suitable bearing-openings of the depending lugs or brackets. These transverse shafts are each provided with a pair of arms 14; and 15, extending upward and downward from the shafts and located adjacent to the inner faces of the lugs or brackets and suitably secured to the transverse shafts. The arms, which are preferably provided with hubs to receive the shafts, are located at the inner faces of the lugs or projections, and the arms at each side of the cage are reversely arranged and are connected by rods 16 and 17. One of the arms at each side of the cage extends upward, and the other arm of that side of the cage extends downward, the connecting-bar being slightly inclined, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings The connectingbars, which are constructed of thin metal and which are secured by pivots 18 in slots or bifurcations of the arms, are oppositely inclined, and one of the connecting-rods is adapted to push and the other to pull when either of the operating devices hereinafter described is manipulated, and by this arran gem'ent the connecting-bars are prevented from buckling. hooks of the upright chairs have inclined lower engaging edges and beveled or inclined upper edges which extend downward and outward and which are adapted, should the chairs he accidentally left in an extended position and come in contact with the timbers of a mining-shaft, to cause the chairs to swing inward automatically and prevent injury to the cage or the timbers of the mining-shaft. The lower inclined edges are adapted to hook over beveled blocks 19, located at the corners of the mining-shaft and designed to be arranged at the several stations and projecting above the floor or platform of the cage and above the adjacent surface at the station to locate the engaging portions of the chairs above the said platform or floor of the cage to prevent the feet of the operator or other persons from being crushed or otherwise injured by the chairs. Also the hooks and the beveled blocks provide an interlocking con nection, and the chairs are securely retained in engagement with the blocks by the Weight of the cage and cannot become accidentally thrown out of such engagement. The cage must be raised a short distance before the chairs can be disengaged from the blocks, and the latter, which have downwardly and outwardly inclined upper faces, are provided with angle wear-plates 20, conforming to the configuration of the upper portions of the blocks. wardly ofiset by the angular bends, and the chairs 9, which are arranged at the opposite ends of the shafts, are connected with the cage by tension devices 21, which are adapted to draw the chairs inward automatically as soon as the same are clear of the blocks. The tension devices, which are located at opposite sides of the cage, consist of overlapped rods and a coiled spring. The overlapped rods are provided at their inner ends with heads, and the coiled spring, which is disposed on the overlapped portions of the rods, is interposed between the heads and is compressed when the chairs are thrown outward. The inner ends of the tension devices are connectedto the uprights or 5 beams at the centers of the sidesof the cage or to any other convenient portion, and the outer ends of the tension devices are connected to the chairs 9. The other chairs 8, which are located at the other ends of the shafts, are arranged at opposite sides of the cage, and each is provided with a handle or or lever 22, consisting of an upright bar pro vided at its upper end with a suitable grip and having an angularly-bent portion or arm at its lower end which is secured to the chair 8 at a point directly above the lug or bracket. Each handle or leveris provided witha latch, consisting of a spring-actuated detent 23, mounted on the handle or lever and arranged to engage a recess 24 of a curved guide 25.

The curved guide is secured to the cage and.

The engaging portions or- The lower ends of the chairs are inweaken the same.

extends between the outer face of the chair and the inner face of the handle or lever, which is outwardly offset for this purpose. The spring-actuated detent may consist of the lower portion of a rod 26, mounted in suitable eyes of a sleeve or end 27 and engaged by a coiled spring 28, interposed be tween a suitable stop of the rod and the up per eye of the'cuflf or sleeve and adapted to hold the detent in engagement with the recess 24 of the curved guide25. The upper end of the rod 26 is connected to a suitable latchlever 29, arranged adjacent to the grip of the handle or lever 22 and adapted to be grasped simultaneously with the same, whereby the detent may be readily disengaged from the notch of the curved guide when it is desired to operate the chairs. The chairs are adapt ed to be operated from either side of the cage, and when the operator is manipulating one handle or lever 22 the other lever is designed to be provided with a link for engaging the latch lever to hold the detent out of the notch.

In order to project the chairs beyond the cage, it is necessary to grip the handle or 1ever, release the detent, and throw the said handle or lever outward from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that illustrated in Fig. 1. This movement compresses the springs of the tension devices, and it will be readily appar-- cut that the chairs are absolutely safe and cannot become accidentally thrown outward.

It will be seen that the invention is exceed ingly simple and inexpensive in construction, that it is adapted to be readilyapplied toa min- 1 ing-cage, and that it possesses great strength and durability and does not necessitate any alteration in the construction of the cage or Furthermore, it will be clear that the lugs or brackets are adapted to prevent the shafts and their connections from coming in contact with the bottom of the mining=shaft andthat the engaging por= tions of the chairs are located above the platform or floor of the cage and the adjacent surface of the station, so that there is no lia-' bility of the foot of the operator becoming crushed by the chairs.

What we claim is- 1. In a device of the class described, the combination with a cage, of an upright chair on the cage provided with a hook adapted to interlock with a suitable support of a miningshaft, and means for operating the chair, substantially as described.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination with a cage, of upright dogs mounted on the cage and provided with upper beveled or inclined edges adapted to cause the dogs to be thrown inward should they come in contact with the timbers of a miningshaft, and means for operating the chairs, substantially as described.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination with a cage, of chairs mounted on the cage and provided with hooks and having beveled edges, whereby the chairs are thrown inward automatically when they come in contact with the timbers of a mining-shaft, and means for operating the chairs, substantially as described.

4. In a device of the class described, the combination with a cage, of transverse shafts mounted on the cage and provided with oppositelydisposed arms, oppositely-inclined connecting-bars pivoted to the arms and adapted to push and pull simultaneously, whereby they are prevented from buckling, chairs mounted on the shafts, and means for operating the chairs, substantially as de scribed.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination with a cage having a depending flange, of brackets composed of sections located at opposite sides of and secured to the flange and projecting below the cage, shafts journaled on the brackets or lugs and connected with each other, chairs mounted on the shafts,and means for operating the chairs, substantially as described.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination with a cage, of upright pivotally-mounted chairs, connect-ions between the chairs for causing the same to oscillate in unison, and aspring located above the platform of the cage and connected with the said cage and with a chair and adapted to hold the chairs normally in an inoperative position, substantially as described.

7. In a device of the class described, the combination with a cage, of an upright pivotally mounted chair, a guide mounted on the cage and having a recess, and an arm or lever mounted on the chair and provided with a latch mechanism for engaging the recess of the guide, substantially as described.

8. In a device of the class described, the combination with a cage, of shafts mounted on the cage and connected together, the chairs 8 and 9 secured to the shafts and extending upward therefrom, the tension devices secured to the cage and connected with the chairs 9, the levers or handles connected with the chairs 8, and means for locking the chairs out of engagement,substantially as described.

9. In a device of the class described, the combination with a block, having an inclined upper face, and a cage, of a chair having a hook adapted to engage the inclined face of the block, substantially as described.

10. In a device of the class described, the combination with a cage, of a block extend ing above the floor or platform of the cage, and a chair interlocked with the block and engaging the same at a point above the floor or platform of the cage, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony that Weclaim the foregoing as our own We have hereto affixed our signatures in the presence of tWo Witnesses.

MELVIN II. BECK. JULIUS R. OAYNOR.

Witnesses:

CLIFFORD BAsTLE, SAM BARsrIAW. 

